Improvement in pumps



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANQOIS FERDINAND PRUDHOMME, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

IMPROVEMENT |N PUMPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,062, dated September 22, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lEANoIs FERDINAND PRUDHoImuE, of the city of Paris, in the Empire of France, have invented certain new and useful .Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Raising Water; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to the construction of machinery or apparatus for raising water, by means of which water may be lifted fromconsiderable depths in an uninterrupted or unbroken stream.

My apparatus is especially suitable for employment in coaland other mines, (which are sometimes as much as eighteen hundred feet in depth,) since'by raising the water in a continuous stream it dispenses with the necessity of fixing to the sides ot' the mine, well, or pit a series of pumps, one above another, from the bottom ot' the mine or pit to its mouth.

My improved machine consists of two main portions, one of which I call the lift-pump 7 and the other, the driving or force pump.77 The lift-pump is placed nearly at the bottom of the well, mine, or other place from which water is to be raised, and may most conveniently be fixed three or four yards above the surface of the water therein.

The drivingpump is fitted outside the well, mine, or place from which the water is to be lifted, close to the steam or other motive-power engine used for driving the machinery (whatever be the distance of such engine from the mouth of the Well, mine, or pit.) These two portions--that is, the driving or force pump and the liftpump-are connected by one or two strong and stanch pipes attached at bottom to the lift-pump and at top to the drivingpump.

The liftPpuinp consists of a barrel or cylinder formed true on its inner surface and fitted with two solid pistons of equal size, fixed on the same rod. The cylinder is closed at the ends and divided midwise by a diaphragm or partition, through which the rod ofthe pistons passes, a stutng-box-being provided on the partition for the rod to work through. Suction and force valves are used for the inlet and outlet ofthe water.

The driving-pump consists of a cylinder or barrel formed true on the inside and itted with a solid piston, the rod ot' which is jointed to the crank arm or bean] ot' the driving-engine. The to and-fro motion of this piston is communicated to the lift-pumpy pistons by the water in the ascension-pipes.

I now proceed to describe the accompanying drawings, in order that the construction of my machine andits method of action may be more fully understood.

All the figures are vertical sections taken through the axial plane or center of the pumps- Figure l shows the lif.pump and the driving or force pump in vertical section. A A is the lift-pump fitted nearly at the bottom of the pit or well-say,three or four yards above the surface or" the water. H H' are suctionpipes dipping into the water and extending to the bottom of the well or mine, orifices being formed in their sides at the bottom to admit the water. a is the partition, which is fixed across the cylinder A A and divides it into the two chambers or compartments Aand A. a/ s a stuffing-box on the partition. B

` and B are two solid pistons of equal size on the rod b. They are packed with leather or metallic springpacking. c and cl are valvechambers. D and d are suction-valves, and D and d delivery or force valves. M is the body of the drivinglpunip, consisting of a cylinder bored smooth and true on the inside and closed at th e ends. This pump,which is doubleactin g, is fitted with a solid piston, l?, having a rod, p, which passes through stufng-boxes m m on the cylinder end, and is jointed atlone end to the crank arm or beam of a steam or other motive engine. pipes. TheseV are the ascension-pipes through which the water rises, and through the water in these pipes motion is transmitted to the pistons B B from the piston P. These pipes F and F are connected at botton to the cylinder A A', from which they rise nearly vertically to the mouth of the well, and are then curved and are carried over the ground to the pump M and attached thereto. Near to their F F are strong stanch junction with the latter they communicate with valve-chambers L, L', and G. In the chamber L L' are the twin valves f and f'. The top of the valve-chamber G opens into a pipe, G', through which the water is delivered.

The apparatus works as follows: Suppose it filled with water from the cylinder M to and including the cylinder A A', the pipes H and H' being also full of water, and suppose the piston P traveling from right to left, the' pistons and valves will be in the position shown in Fig. l. As the piston P moves, it exerts pressure on the water in the pipe F, the valves f and D' are closed, and the piston B' will be forced frem left toV right, moving the vpiston B with it, and the water contained in the chamber A', between its end and the piston B', will be forced into the valve-chamber c' and will raise the valve d' and pass into the pipe F'. The water in the chamber A between the piston B and the partition a will also be forced into the pipe F', and will rise up this pipe to the chamber L', and, the valve f' being open, a portion of the water will es'- cape into the chamber G and be delivered from the pipe G', while another portion of the water will pass into and fill the cylinder M behind the piston P. At the same time an exhaust or suction action will be produced in the chamber A between its end and the piston B, whereupon the suction-valve D will open and water will be drawn from the well. into the cylinder through the pipe H. When the.

`valve f being open. Thus, while water is being drawn in at one side it is being forced out at the other. The machine is thus double-acting, and a continuous delivery will be obtained through the pipe G', the extremity of which must of course be carried above the level of the cylinder M, so that the latter will always remain filled with water.

Fig. 2 is a modification of the preceding arrangement, diifering therefrom only in having a vertical instead of horizontal lift-pump. A A' is the lift-pump, and M the driving or force pump.

rPhe machine works thus: As the piston P travels from right to left, the Valves f and D' close and the water in the pipe F will drive the pistons B B' upward, and the water held in the chamber A between the bottom of that chamber and the piston B', as also the water in the' chamber A between the piston B and partition a, will be forced into the pipe F', and will pass thence into the chamber L, a portion flowing away through the pipe G' and the other portion passing into the cylinder M, and, an exhaust or suction action being produced in the chamber A between its end and the piston B, water will be drawn up into A through the pipe H. When the piston P performs its return-stroke-that is, from left to right-it will press on the water in F', causing it to drive the piston B' downward, and Water will rise up the pipe F and be delivered from the cha-mber G', whereby a continuousV delivery will be obtained.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing a modiiication of lift-pump differing from that in Fig. 1 only in this, that the motive pressure of the water is exerted on the outer surfaces of the pistons B and B', instead of on their inner surfaces. The driving pump is ynot shown, being similar to that in Fig. 1.

The method of action is as follows: As the l'piston P travels from right to left it causes the water in the pipe F to press on the outer surface of the piston B and drive it from left to right, the piston B' of course moving with it. Water thus rises in the pipe F and is drawn into the chamber A' through thevalve d. When the piston P performs its returnstroke or moves from left to right it drives the water in the pipe F', which presses on the outer surface of the piston B', drivin g it from right to left, thereby forcing water through the pipe F into and out of the chamber L and the pipe G'. The machine is thus adoubleacting, continuousdlscharge pump.

It will of course be understood that the water that is expelled from the cylinder M passes into the lift-pump, and is forced therefrom upward and alternately through the pipes F F', and simultaneously with the water lifted through the pipes H H' by the lift-pump. rPhe excess of water forced upward-that is to say, all over the volume required to fill the suction end of the cylinder M -v-escapes through the pipe G', and this amount is of course equal to the amount raised by the liftpump. Thus it will be seen that the pipes F F will always be retained full of Water after the apparatus commences to operate, for the cylinders A A' alternately receive the water that is forced down from the cylinder M, and this water is again forced upward by the pistons B B'. The volume of water therefore required to keep the pipes F F filled is alwaysretained, and serves as a medium to transmit the power ofthe piston P to the pistons B B'.

Having now described the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same may be performed, I- declare that I claiml. The combination of two pumps, one b eing a lift and the other a force pump, arranged as herein shown, or in any equivalent way, to operate conjointly in the manner as and for the purpose specified.

2. The. particular construction of the liftpump, as herein described, to wit, two -solid pistons of equal size fitted in a cylinderdivided into two compartments -byva fixed partition, forming a resisting-surface to the aopump pistons through continuous columns of tion of the water, as described. water, whereby the use of a rod extending 3. The combination of the cyiinders MAA', down the Well, mine, pit, or shaft is dispensed pistons P B B', pipes F' J J', and valves D D with.

d d' L L', all arranged and operating substantially as set forth. A

4. The described arrangement and combi- Witnesses: nation ofparts constituting the double-acting J AMES W. BROOKS, driving-pump, Without valves, but With a BRETTON, F. solid piston transmitting motion to the lit- Ingnieur cz'm'l, Rue de Matte, 51.

F. F. PRUDHOMME. 

